Course Descriptions

EEB 205 – Theory and Methods in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
3 Credit Hours
Introduction to fundamental theories and methods in ecology and evolutionary biology. Knowledge and skills needed to succeed through direct, active experiences evaluating the communicating scientific evidence. Topics reflect current research interests in the department, as well as classic case studies in the discipline. Emphasizes practical understanding of scientific process with focus on developing skills needed for upper-level courses. Provides opportunities to become familiar with research interests of faculty members, enabling students to identify potential future research opportunities.

(Same as Anthropology 240.)
Contact Hour Distribution: 3 hours lecture and 3 hours lab.
Credit Restriction: May not be applied toward the ecology and evolutionary biology concentration.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology 230 or Biology 101 or 102 or 150-159 or 160-159 or 113-115 or 114-115 or Microbiology 210.

EEB 304 – Socio-Economic Impact of Plants
3 Credit Hours
Significance of plants in origin and development of human cultures, evolution of cultivated plants, and role of plants in present civilization.

Contact Hour Distribution: Includes occasional field trips.
Credit Restriction: May not be applied toward the ecology and evolutionary biology concentration.

EEB 305 – Evolution and Society
3 Credit Hours
Develop a foundational understanding of the nature of science and scientific knowledge using evolutionary biology as its focus. Explore cultural controversies surrounding and scientific controversies within the field of evolutionary biology. Writing-emphasis course.

(Same as Anthropology 305.)
Satisfies General Education Requirement: (WC)
Credit Restriction: May not be applied toward the ecology and evolutionary biology concentration.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): Anthropology 110 or Biology 101-102 or 113-114-115 or 150 or equivalent; English 102, 132, 290, or 298.

Credit Restriction: May not be applied toward the ecology and evolutionary biology concentration.
(RE) Prerequisite(s): Biology 101-102 or 113-114-115 or 150 or equivalent.

EEB 309 – Biology of Human Affairs
3 Credit Hours
Current topics in biology and their public relevance, especially the interaction between biology and government. Issues include conservation, health, agriculture, national parks, population, etc.

Credit Restriction: May not be applied toward the ecology and evolutionary biology concentration.

EEB 310 – Evolution, Disease, and Medicine
3 Credit Hours
Apply evolutionary theory and scientific reasoning to understand human disease to help improve the theory and practice of medicine and public health. Focus on developing logical rigor in scientific arguments, applying theory to generate hypotheses consistent with observations, and applying and interpreting theory to predict the outcomes of experimental manipulations/interventions.

EEB 311 – Career and Professional Development
1 Credit Hours
Provides students with working knowledge of available career paths and options in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and how to prepare for future careers. Discussions, reading relevant papers, discussing topics with guest speakers, and hands-on practice of important professional skills.

EEB 330 – Field Botany
3 Credit Hours
Explore diversity of local plants of east TN, both under the microscope in the laboratory and outside in the field. Develop identification skills for invasive, native, and naturalized plants, which are critical for ecological and wildlife professions. Field trips will include visiting research facilities that are dedicated to the conservation, identification, and preservation of plants.

EEB 351 – Field Mycology
4 Credit Hours
Introduction to collection, identification, and diversity of mushroom-forming fungi. Hands-on course develops familiarity with mushroom diversity. Emphasizes field collection or isolation of fungi from the environment and their identification in field and laboratory settings. Taxonomic methods rely mostly on morphological and anatomical analyses. Students will be trained to analyze DNA sequence data for identification and species delimitation. Provides training and development of systematic and analytical skills, as well as skills in field ecology, microscopy, herbarium curation, and evolutionary biology.

EEB 404 – Ecosystem Ecology
3 Credit Hours
Interpretation and application of cutting edge science in the primary literature will be used to critically assess abiotic and biotic components of natural systems. Learn to integrate characteristics of individual species, populations, and communities to understand how energy, carbon, nutrients flow through natural systems. Development of individual literature reviews will incorporate this knowledge for scientific and broad audiences.

EEB 415 – Field Ecology
4 Credit Hours
Learn scientific and professional development skills critical to becoming a professional Ecologist. Learn field methods to examine fundamental concepts in ecology, including skills in hypothesis development, experimental design, field observation, plant, animal and microbial sampling techniques, data reduction and statistical analysis, and written and oral presentations. Three weekend field trips required.

EEB 419 – Global Change Ecology
3 Credit Hours
Gain an in-depth understanding of current, global-scale environmental changes and the consequences of these changes for species, ecological communities, and humankind. Topics include climate change, habitat fragmentation, invasion biology, and large-scale pollution in the Anthropocene with a focus on human-dimensions to these global challenges. Students will develop a greater appreciation for global change and the connections between humans and the natural world. Course will be a mix of lectures, reading of primary literature, group discussion/participation, and field research.

(RE) Prerequisite(s): Biology 260.

EEB 420 – Fungal Diversity
3 Credit Hours
Ecology and evolutionary biology of fungi revealed mostly through use of molecular techniques. Many fungi, and the ecological roles they serve, are often obscure due to their ephemeral nature, difficulty of detection, and convergent gross morphological similarities. Advances in molecular biology have uncovered an unanticipated depth of diversity in fungi and permitted scientists to address research questions not possible until only recently. This seminar will provide an overview of fungal ecology and evolution by examining the primary literature. Multiple dimensions of fungal diversity are explored: taxonomic, genetic, and functional.

EEB 423 – Conservation Decision Making
3 Credit Hours
Online course will teach structured decision making process. Learn to enable people representing diverse interests to come together to form a common understanding and to create scientifically rigorous, inclusive, defensible, and transparent conservation and natural resource management plans. Course requires regular interaction with classmates in weekly online discussion, a mock conservation planning project, and a small-group evaluation of a published conservation plan (which includes a recorded interview of one of its authors).

EEB 424 – Plant Diversity and Evolution
3 Credit Hours
Understand the evolutionary history of photosynthetic cyanobacteria and green plants (green algae, bryophytes, lycophytes, ferns, and seed plants). A hands-on laboratory provides an in-depth understanding of major morphological and developmental features of each plant group.

EEB 426 – Plant-Animal Interactions
3 Credit Hours
Introduction to the evolutionary and ecological aspects of interactions between plants and animals, including herbivory, pollination, and seed dispersal. Emphasis is on historical development of the field, discussions of primary literature, design of experiments, and writing.

(RE) Prerequisite(s): Biology 260.

EEB 430 – Invasion Biology
3 Credit Hours
History, biology, and management of biological invasions, geography and scale of invasions, ecological effects, impacts to humans, and evolution of introduced and native species. Differences between “introduced” and “invasive” species will inform discussions about prevention, regulation, detection, management, and eradication. Comprehensive consideration of interesting case studies. Apply knowledge in a variety of scenarios and fields. Discussion of controversies surrounding biological invasions and prospects for the future of invasions considering biotic homogenization, animal rights, human activity, climate change, and management with new technologies.

EEB 433 – Plant Ecology
3 Credit Hours
Fundamental concepts and techniques in plant ecology, including topics such as plant interactions with climate, microbiomes/herbivores, plant community dynamics, and plant-mediated ecosystem processes. By the end of the course students will have a working knowledge of the major concepts, current research being done and a toolbox of lab and field techniques in plant ecology. Specific skills to be developed include how to read, synthesize, and write ecological literature, experimental design, analyses of plants and plant processes, statistics/data analysis, and science communication. Course requires one weekend field trip.

(RE) Prerequisite(s): Biology 260.

EEB 450 – Comparative Animal Behavior
3 Credit Hours
Explore the diversity of extraordinary and sometimes puzzling animal behaviors in the natural world, seeking to understand and test questions about how and why animals (including humans) behave the way they do. Students will develop scientific and professional skills in hypothesis development, critical thinking, visual representation of data, oral communication, and teamwork.

(Same as Psychology 450.)

EEB 451 – Research Ethics
3 Credit Hours
Ethics of scientific research with emphasis on biological sciences from genetic to ecological research. Ethics of intellectual property, allocation of resources for research, genetic engineering, research on marginalized and vulnerable populations, research on non-human animals, conservation biology, ecological fieldwork, and more.

EEB 464 – Macroevolution
3 Credit Hours
How, and, more importantly, why life on earth has changed through evolutionary processes. What leads to extinction or speciation, at what level does selection operate, are humans still evolving, and how we develop and test hypotheses in these areas will all be discussed.

EEB 469 – Special Topics in Conservation Biology
3 Credit Hours
Current topics on the conservation of biological diversity at population, community, and ecosystem levels.

Repeatability: May be repeated if topic differs. Maximum 12 hours.

EEB 470 – Aquatic Ecology
3 Credit Hours
Physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of streams, lakes, and seas. Discover how anthropogenic activities are threatening these systems and the biodiversity therein. Coding and big data analyses will be an important part of this class. How to harness publicly available datasets to answer important questions in aquatic ecology and conservation.

EEB 475 – Conversational Biomathematical Modeling
3 Credit Hours
Concepts in mathematical modeling in the biological sciences. Focus on understanding different types of models and how to read the primary literature that utilizes these methods.

EEB 480 – Natural History of the Smoky Mountains
3 Credit Hours
Field ecology course that includes a one-week field trip. Students will learn about the natural history and ecological and evolutionary factors that are responsible for the diversity of plants and animals in the Great Smoky Mountains. Emphasis on field study of selected biotic communities. Course will meet daily on campus for lectures/labs for 5 days (week 1) before venturing into the field. Students will stay full-time at the Biology Field Station in week 2. Course will conclude with 2 days (week 3) of oral presentations and discussion.

(RE) Prerequisite(s): Biology 150 and Biology 260 or equivalent.
Comment(s): This course is offered in the summer term only.

EEB 481 – Avian Diversity
3 Credit Hours
Provides strong foundation in global and regional diversity of birds, their biogeography, evolution, and ecology. Learn to identify birds by plumage, voice, and behavior. Familiarize yourself with major groups of North American birds, their habitats and distributions, and learn about the value of avian natural history collections and the challenges and rewards of preparing bird specimens.

EEB 484 – Conservation Biology
3 Credit Hours
Learn to quantify biodiversity and patterns of biodiversity loss and change. Examine the role of different drivers of biodiversity loss in the US and elsewhere. Explore the efficacy of different strategies aiming to conserve species and ecosystems and to safeguard the benefits that people derive from them. Discuss relevant professions and how they apply principles of conservation biology with outside speakers.

Recommended Background: Biology 260.

EEB 485 – Ethnobiology: Theory and Methods
3 Credit Hours
Dynamic relationships between humans and their environment. Focus on understanding of the drivers of human decision making and choice in plant and animal use which is critical for designing globally sustainable management plans.

EEB 490 – Undergraduate Seminar
1 Credit Hours
Weekly departmental research seminar presenting current research in the areas of ecology, behavior, and evolutionary biology by UT faculty and researchers from around the world. Seminar meets to discuss a paper by the Department’s weekly seminar speaker. As a result, enrollment in this course requires attendance to the Department’s weekly seminar.

Repeatability: May be repeated four times. Up to two credit hours of 490 can count toward the major. Additional hours may be petitioned for honors students.
Registration Restriction(s): Biological Sciences majors; minimum student level – Junior; consent of instructor.

EEB 550 – Ecological Niche Models and Species’ Distributions
1 Credit Hours
Species niches and spatial patterns – course will combine lectures with computer demonstrations and practice. Students are expected to develop and work on an instructor approved project during class and present project results at the end of the semester. This hands-on course will be structured in three modules: I. Species’ ranges in GIS; II. Species’ niches – ecological niche modeling; and III. Spatial patterns of biodiversity – macroecology and conservation. Each module will last 5 weeks and students have the option to enroll in one, two, or three modules.
Repeatability: May be repeated. Maximum 3 hours.
Registration Restriction(s): Consent of instructor.

EEB 598 – Biology Education: Theory and Practice
3 Credit Hours
Develops the knowledge, skills, and confidence to be an effective biology teacher at the college level. Outcomes of the course will include a knowledge of teaching techniques, practice evaluating the teaching of others, putting educational theory into practice, and a completed teaching philosophy statement.
Cross-listed: (Same as Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology 598 and Microbiology 598.)